Cornell University saw one of its largest campus demonstrations in recent years on Monday (October 5): more than a thousand students, faculty members and Ithaca residents marched from Ho Plaza to Day Hall, demanding the resignation of President Michael Kotlikoff and protesting the school's handling of a 2024 fraternity sexual-assault allegation. Per the New York Post, the crowd carried signs reading "We are all Jane Doe" and "Alcohol is not consent," while speakers called for all fraternities to be kicked off campus.
The "Justice for Survivors" rally was organized by Students for a Democratic Cornell and dozens of other student groups. The demands: remove the president, expel accused students and revoke the degrees of those who already graduated, and overhaul the campus judicial process for sexual-assault cases. Ithaca residents joined the march, and onlookers watched from dorm windows and slopes along the route. Local outlet Life in Ithaca put attendance anywhere from over a thousand to several thousand. Early Monday, the university also discovered graffiti and a damaged glass door at its administrative headquarters.
The protests did not end Monday. The Associated Press reported that students staged a seven-hour sit-in at a campus dining hall on Wednesday and vowed not to spend money on campus that day. A handwritten "Justice for Jane Doe" sign stood on an empty table; some students sat without eating while others lunched. Organizers said the action was meant to highlight complaints that the university is slow to respond to sexual-assault reports but quick to protect its reputation.
The trigger was a lawsuit filed September 16. A former student identified as Jane Doe alleges that in October 2024, at a Chi Phi fraternity party, she was plied with ketamine and alcohol and then sexually assaulted by several members; one man texted others inviting them to participate. The defendants include Cornell University, the Chi Phi chapter, seven fraternity members, a local bar, and her own sorority. She was 20 at the time and reported the alleged assault to police several weeks later. Reuters, citing the New York Times and Cornell documents, reported that the men all denied wrongdoing — some saying the sexual activity was consensual, others disputing their participation — and lawyers for three of them publicly denied the accusations.
The university says it disciplined the students involved: two were expelled, others suspended, and the Chi Phi chapter was shut down. But no criminal charges were ever filed, and the local prosecutor declined to prosecute. The lawsuit also criticized the university for offering some of the accused a chance to mitigate their penalties by writing essays. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed the state attorney general to take over the investigation, and Cornell has announced it will hire a former Justice Department official to review how the school handles sexual-assault complaints.
As the case escalates, Jane Doe herself is in danger. CNN reported that her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, said she has received death threats — he provided CNN with audio of one harassing call — and was targeted in a swatting incident in which police drew guns on her family and a friend. Giuffra blamed commentators who have doxxed the woman and accused her of lying: "The temperature needs to be brought down. I am very concerned for her and her family's safety."